IT vendors join forces to support the Canalys Channels Forum

Palo Alto, Singapore and Reading (UK) — Wednesday, 15 June 2011

Canalys today announced the backing of thirteen new and returning IT vendors at its fourth annual Canalys Channels Forum, 3–5 October 2011, in Barcelona. Previously announced vendors AMD, HP, IBM and Brocade will now be joined by APC by Schneider Electric, Iomega, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Lenovo, McAfee, Samsung, ShoreTel, WatchGuard, Alvea Services, Avira, CHG-Meridian and Joyent.

“We’re excited to unite hundreds of channel partners with major and emerging technology vendors at this year’s event,” said Canalys President and CEO Steve Brazier. “Whether through our analytical data services, our unique channel partner community Candefero or events such as the Canalys Channels Forum, we have always focused on creating a dialogue between vendors and partners. This critical exchange fosters improved business results for all parties.”

This year’s event theme, “From cloud to clarity,” centres on the risks and rewards of cloud computing for the channel community. Brazier, along with HP President and CEO Léo Apotheker and industry leaders from other major IT vendors such as AMD and IBM, will present keynote perspectives around the cloud computing debate.

“Since the global financial crisis hit a few years ago, the new standard among businesses and governments is an increased appetite for more cost-effective technology enablement,” said Brazier. “This conference will assess adoption patterns and explore buyer sentiment towards transition risk. Clarity will be derived from looking at the progress of clouds within the context of larger technology spending.”

Participation at the Canalys Channels Forum is by invitation through IT distributors Also-Actebis, Arena, Arrow, Avnet, Ingram Micro, Magirus, Specialist Distribution Group, Tech Data and Westcoast. Channel partners should contact their local distributor for more information on how they can attend.

“We’ve seen a 94% increase in channel partner registrations over the same period last year,” said Canalys Events and Marketing Director Rita Chaher. “The fact that so many vendors and partners have already confirmed their participation reflects the Forum’s reputation for enabling high-quality, executive networking. We expect to help arrange over 2,000 senior one-to-one meetings this year.”

About the Canalys Channels Forum

The Canalys Channels Forum is the only independent event that unites senior managers from leading technology vendors, distributors and channel partners to discuss industry trends, forge new business relationships and create sales opportunities. In addition to vendor keynotes, the event will feature customer views from a panel of CIOs, best-practice workshops, more than 2,000 senior one-to-one meetings and a prestigious gala dinner, among other networking activities. More information about the event can be found at www.canalyschannelsforum.com or on Twitter at @cloudtoclarity.